The support of women postpartum is something near and dear to Beth's heart. There are plentiful resources available during pregnancy and immediately following birth but many women feel alone postpartum. After that that first week as the people start to fade away and the focus continues to shift to baby, mothers are generally left to their own devices. For Beth, it was 5 months postpartum when she started to spiral. She was having anxiety and feeling depressed and when she talked to her husband he'd noticed the shift too. She went to the doctor to start medication and began to feel better.

Talking about postpartum depression is important to Beth, as we work to improve birth there is still so much that needs to be done. With Journey she found that there was even less support available as everyone seemed to think because she was already a mom she knew what she was doing. This time her postpartum depression manifested as rage. She was doing well with the baby but seemingly small frustrations with her son or daily life would cause her to lose it. She went to the doctor the very day she noticed and started medication again. Beth was feeling like she had conquered things for a spell but has a lot of life transitions happening and has found that the past 3 weeks have been difficult again. She's considering reaching out to her support again and seeing what else she can do to help her on her way.

Both of Beth's babies were born at home after healthy pregnancies. Honour's labor was 30 hours and near the end she was so exhausted she was falling asleep between contractions. Everyone assumed that Journey's would be the same but within about an hour of labors onset she was feeling the urge to push and her midwife had them call EMS so someone would be present with them for the birth.

Sharing her story and doing all that she can to destigmatize postpartum mood disorders and advocate for support is needed. Documenting this moment in time when she is both struggling and surviving with her beautiful children is a wonderful celebration of their journey together.